Negative Effects Of Art Therapy

According to Naumburg (1966), the process of art therapy is based on one’s fundamental thoughts and feelings that are obtained from the unconscious and often express in images rather than in words. Understanding the techniques of art therapy are based on every individual’s knowledge that whether trained or untrained in art, the individual all have a unconscious ability to project inner thoughts or conflicts into images. In other words, everyone does not have to be a skilled artist to do art therapy; any form of art is acceptable. For example: scribbling on a piece of paper can be art therapy because the act of scribbling transforms the unconscious thought into an image. (Naumburg, 1966).

Art therapy enables people with dementia to express their feelings when words cannot (AATA, 2015). Art therapy explores the client’s feelings, resolves emotional conflicts and fosters their self-awareness with the use of art media, the creative process and the resulting finished artwork as a therapeutic and healing process. Furthermore, art therapy helps manage client’s behavior, develop social skills, improves reality orientation, and reduces anxiety and increase self-esteem. Art therapy benefits people of all ages facing different challenges in life and is an effective treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational and social or psychological impairment (AATA,

Art as a therapeutic method was my primary focus throughout the psychology program at Ryerson University. I am familiar with much research regarding art therapy for mental disorders such as depression

Lefèvre, Ledoux and Filbet (2015) researched the painting therapy not only importing the mental state such as sadness, anxiety and depression. Also, it can enhance

Art therapy is a Multi-Functional Psychological therapy that helps the mental mind in connecting things that are disconnected like a patient with alzheimer's where the patient's medial temporal lobe that’s the part of the brain that controls memory. The medial temporal lobe is vital in the brain because that is where the brain recollects the memories and stores them. When you get older the lobe gets weaker in which causes it to disconnect thus causing “memory loss” or dementia. In art therapy we like to cause a visual reconnection of that nerve so in which a patient then can remember more but in a visual stance as in some people like to look at photographs to visually which allows memories to reconnect. These programs are put into place to help anyone with mental issues they are put in place just to help.

Art therapy is said to use “three levels of intervention.” These levels include engaging in the clients senses through the physical manipulation of art materials, using the client’s art as a “symbolic container of their traumatic memories, and “cognitive reflection” guided by the art therapist. The therapist helps to “guide” where the client’s focus lays in terms of their traumatic memories; the goal of the therapist is to help the client integrate elements of their experience, other than the extremely negative, into their

When veterans serve and return from fighting for their country, they can be largely affected mentally and physically. The use of art therapy can be a healing tool to help them forget the bad experiences that they witnessed. When they are in combat, they can develop mental or behavioral issues. One of the most common forms of this that several veterans have accumulated is post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. This disorder results when an individual is greatly affected by a traumatic event. Some symptoms of this disorder include flashbacks of the event, dreams of the event that causes the individual more stress, and physical reactions to things that reminds them of that event. The patient's mood turns very negative and he or she can be easily scared of certain things.

Patients without an art background must learn from some of the basic skills of art to fully embrace the role of art therapy (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li, 2016). Because these diseases are degenerative, the patients in an art therapy session can be in different stages of disease. The requirement to learn art can cause frustration and agitation in some patients, further increasing the burden on themselves as well as their caregivers. The success of non-pharmacological treatments could be affected by the cultural background of the person, since different people can have various responses to the same intervention program (Chen et al, 2014). In regards to the studies about art therapy interventions, the period, duration, and frequency of the interventions vary between studies (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li, 2016). It is therefore difficult to classify the risks and benefits of art therapy since the measurable quantities are limited. The ability to judge a patients progression of disease through art is a subjective evaluation that has little merit. The majority of studies investigated the care burden via interview, which may also be subjective; in future studies, it is necessary to use qualitative and quantitative methods to perform in-depth analyses of the benefits of art therapy (Qiu-Yue Wang, Dong Mei Li,

Fard, Farah Joan. "The expanding reach of art therapy: though it's a relatively new approach to mental health treatment, art therapy is gaining traction and making a difference in people's lives." Art Business News, Winter 2015, p. 34+. Fine Arts and Music Collection, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=PPFA&sw=w&u=hillsbor&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA436797590&it=r&asid=1bc151430b53c85d758e9329f6ecf46a. Accessed 22 Nov. 2017.

Art therapy for dementia is typically provided by art therapists, artists, or facilitators to small groups of patients in a clinical or care setting. Art therapy has traditionally emphasized qualitative over quantitative evidence. Observationally, art therapy engages attention, provides pleasure, and improves behaviour and affect in patients with dementia. Other benefits include enhanced self-esteem and improved communication and reduced anxiety, agitation, and depression.

Art therapy is based off of experiential family therapy which emerged from the humanistic approach of existential psychology. Gladding (2014) says that The foundation of experiential theory is that the individual within the family are unaware of their true emotions and if they are aware of them they suppress them. Experiential approaches incorporate family play into session which is good because it helps,

To test whether an art therapy program is effective at reducing recidivism in serious violent and chronic juvenile offenders, a large control group, and a large experimental group was randomly chosen and assigned. The control group was given an alternative form of treatment (other than art therapy, they were shown videos of violent and chronic juvenile offenders participating in art therapy programs) to act as the baseline for how well those who receive actual art therapy might benefit. Art therapy ran in 1-hour sessions, and videos ran for 1 hour.

Additionally, the arts can be considered as the antidote. The Mental Health Foundation concluded that “it is evident that engaging with participatory art can improve the wellbeing of older people and mediate the negative effects of becoming older” (Mental Health Foundation 2011). Participating the arts can widely divided into modes: being a member of the audience and creating a work by themselves. Both types offers the elderly great opportunities for making new friends, having interaction with other people, though “it is likely that the latter, creating art (sometimes called ‘participatory arts’) will be more prolonged, may be more satisfying, have greater depth and be more likely to break down isolation and loneliness” (Cutler 2012).

Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being.

Expressive arts therapy is the use of art modalities, creative process, and aesthetic experience in a therapeutic context. It is a therapy of the imagination (McNiff, 1992). Effective communication is an essential element in therapeutic relationships and, although verbal language is the most conventional means of conveying information, other forms can convey just as much as words. The arts are an alternative form of communication that has recently received recognition for their value in therapeutic settings. There is a long well-established connection between the arts and psychology. Expressive arts therapy builds on a natural, complimentary relationship between the two disciplines. As a formal therapy, this form is relatively new with its